I don’t know why, but I’ve always loved walking along Onondaga Lake. In the 70’s, when I still rode my bike, I used to ride down so I could go up and down the area, but sometimes I would ride my bike over, chain it somewhere, then walk along the lake.

After more than 35 years it still looks the same, but then lake’s don’t go around changing that often unless they’re in Eastern Europe do they? Sure, you can’t drive the little access road anymore, and there are some barriers up to make sure you don’t do it, but otherwise it’s still as pristine as it used to be.

Actually, it almost sounds weird to call it pristine. Sometimes the odors will drive you away; sometimes the remains of goose poo are all over the place, such that I’ve stopped walking in the grass because I don’t want to step on anything I’m not prepared for. I’m not sure if that bathrooms were there in the past, but I don’t really remember them or at least ever needing one back then. And the couple of picnic areas that also didn’t used to be there aren’t always as clean as they should be; some folks haven’t totally mastered the art of cleaning up after themselves.

 

I’m adding a few pictures to the mix because I want to highlight parts of the lake that I’ve enjoyed. For instance, the park benches weren’t there in the past, and one of these years I’d love to pay for a bench to be placed there. For the first time last Saturday I actually took some time along my walk to look at some of the placards, which you can see in these images. There are also newer style benches this year, as those weren’t there last year.

the “Christmas Tree” house

I love looking across the lake as well, but sometimes I’m not sure the pictures do it all justice. It’s not the widest lake in the world, but it’s wide enough. On the other side I imagine that every once in awhile someone must be walking the shores over there, although I don’t really know if they’ve ever completed the walkway on that side. At some point there had been conversation about making it such that those with the fortitude could actually walk around the entire lake. I’m not even sure how they’d pull that off, since there’s really no end to the lake on one side, as it merges into the Seneca River, but I have faith in engineers to be able to solve most issues they come across if someone actually wants to get it done.

Last Saturday it was pretty peaceful in the morning. There were no parties and not many people walking. There were a couple of groups of runners and bikers, but for the most part it was either individuals or couples walking. And I enjoyed myself; I enjoyed the beauty, and I enjoyed the music I was listening to. The music made me smile, and as I “fake” sang along people would walk by and see me smiling and they’d smile back and we’d mouth “hello” to each other; there’s nothing wrong with that from where I was.

I’ve never attended a cookout at the lake; how funny is that? Maybe that’ll happen one day. I’m thinking someone mentioned the possibility of having a tweetup at the lake. Maybe a walking tweetup would be something different to do… nah! At some point the bugs will come and the humidity might be too much, even in the evenings.

Still, I love this lake, almost as much as I love Lake Ontario, which is a totally different experience. I hope the images help some to tell the story. There are homes along the lake that have been there forever, and one, like the big mansion, which has never been lived in; what’s that about? I’ve seen ducks, geese, turtles, rabbits, cranes, and a couple other things there as well. I’ve never seen a bear, though; what happened to that bad boy?

This is my tale. Maybe one day I’ll walk with some of you along the lake and we’ll share stories. If not, I’ll keep walking it, to the yacht club, to the circle, then back around and to my car. Whew, I’m tired again!